The last two years have been significant for those working in arts and culture. In Singapore, this period has seen interesting initiatives focused more on creating meaningful shifts in the scene – from changing the ways we work, to improving and professionalising craft, and decentralising discourse and learning. Nabilah Said, Ke Weiliang and Lee Shu …
In March 2020, we spoke to 10 arts and culture workers from across Southeast Asia, in a bid to capture the sentiments on the ground as it shifted during the early days of the pandemic. Now two years later, we revisit the same artists to see what has changed, and what has stayed the same. …
COVID-19 and the arts in Southeast Asia – 2 years on Read More »
Below is a list of the top 10 ArtsEquator articles in 2021, in random order: The Substation: How many more canaries in the coal mine? by Hoe Su Fern Published on: 20 Feb 2021 “Although the current situation facing The Substation is not new or unique, its impending fate is emblematic of, and raises …
Listen as speakers Ke Weiliang, Lee Shu Yu, Matt Lyon, Nabilah Said and Naeem Kapadia share their thoughts about Singapore theatre in 2021, including observations and shows they found memorable. Mentioned in this episode: ArtsWok, Brown Voices, Checkpoint Theatre, Double Confirm Productions/Sight Lines Entertainment, Drama Box, Eng Kai Er, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, …
Where did 2021 go? As part of our annual event Year In Review 2021, statistics about 2021 shows were gathered, including those postponed or cancelled. These infographics are produced by ArtsEquator. Discuss, respond and listen as we unpack these statistics and more in Year In Review on 18 Dec 2021. [See details below] You can …
Year In Review 2021: Singapore Theatre in Statistics Read More »
JENG JENG JENG…! Year in Review is back! Where did 2021 go? How did the year unravel, and where have we arrived at? In a year where the arts has had to acquiesce to multiple rules, hopeful for a return to normalcy, 2021 had us hurtling through an unknown abyss of multiple emotions best captured …
JENG JENG JENG: Singapore Theatre Year In Review 2021 Read More »
By Wennie Yang (690 words, 2-minute read) There is a quiet and perhaps stubborn optimism that underlies the work of a producer. Perhaps one could call it an occupational hazard, always seeking new ways to do things. This spirit seemed to drive the most recent Asian Producers’ Platform (APP) open forum, which took place from …
Rethinking contemporaries: Asian Producers’ Platform Speaker Series Read More »
By Wennie Yang (1,200 words, 4-minute read) Pandemic restrictions have put arts and cultural workers and institutions in a bind: choosing between sustaining their missions at times of a global pandemic or ceasing operations altogether. How have Southeast Asian arts managers survived? That was the question at the heart of the third ANCER Lab, formed …
ANCER Lab 03 Manila: How arts managers are surviving COVID-19 Read More »
By Adriana Nordin Manan (1,000 words, 3-minute read) If arts panel discussions are meant to reflect the times, “Critical Responses to Performance-Making in A Post-Pandemic World” positioned itself well: at this stage of the pandemic, it was less about open-ended contemplation of how the performing arts can retain vitality amidst the prohibitive circumstances, and more …
Performance Making during a Pandemic: Of Innovation, Form and Embeddedness Read More »
As many parts of Southeast Asia are hit by recurrent waves of Covid 19 infections, arts industries across the region face imminent collapse due to prolonged closures and scant state support. In Malaysia, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre’s Artistic Director Joe Hasham and his wife and co-founder, Datuk Dr. Faridah Merican, recently released an …
The performing arts industry of Malaysia is drowning Read More »
By Azura Farid and Nabilah Said The pandemic led theatre collective HATCH to dream up Keturunan Ruminah (Ruminah’s Family), a play that takes place entirely on WhatsApp. Rightly, HATCH identified the potential of the WhatsApp group chat to be a site of potent family drama, this one centred on ghostly possession, complete with videos of …
Keturunan Ruminah: WhatsApp play on family inheritance Read More »
In the latest of our Cakap-Cakap series, ArtsEquator chats with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan who star in Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT)’s new play, The Sound Inside, written by by award-winning playwright Adam Rapp. The Sound Inside turns the spotlight on an unusual connection forged between a pair of literary-minded people – a professor and …
Cakap-Cakap: Interview with Serene Chen and Krish Natarajan Read More »
ArtsEquator organised a webinar titled “Statistically Speaking: Analysing arts audience engagement in Singapore and Australia” on Thursday, 28 January. This panel brought together representatives from the National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council of the Arts to elucidate on recent research results about arts engagement, and discuss what it tells us about the future …
Looking through the 35-page programme booklet for the 9th edition of Singapore Art Week (SAW), I was fully struck by my Malaysian-ness. Never before have I gone through a brochure for any art event with so much content – 100 events across both physical and digital spaces featuring over 300 Singaporean and international artists, all …
A Malaysian under lockdown reviews Singapore Art Week 2021 Read More »
On Thursday, 28 January 11am-12.30pm (GMT +8), representatives from Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council for the Arts will discuss audience attitudes towards the arts in their respective countries in the webinar titled “Statistically Speaking: Analysing Arts Audience Engagement in Singapore and Australia”. (Pre-event registration here) This discussion draws on research survey …
Representatives from Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC) and the Australia Council for the Arts will discuss audience attitudes towards the arts in their respective countries, based on research survey data collected in 2019 and 2020. What does the data tell us about ourselves and how does this affect new policies and programmes? And what does …
Statistically Speaking: Analysing Arts Audience Engagement in Singapore and Australia Read More »
Below is a list of the top 10 ArtsEquator articles in 2020, in random order: An Elder Millennial’s Guide to Classic Singapore TV & Movies by Joel Tan Published on: 20 Aug 2020 “Purists are undecided on when exactly Singapore TV died, but I think 2007, when Phua Chu Kang wrapped, and 2015, when …
For former jazz pianist Peter Ng, the past year has been one of great change. Set up in mid-2019, Maduro was envisioned to be a jazz lounge and a whisky bar, but Ng quickly realised – hastened by the pandemic – that it needed to evolve. The venue will soon be featured in an online …
Maduro, online jazz concerts, SIFA: A jazz bar evolves in a pandemic Read More »
For artist weish, who is one-half of electronica duo .gif, this has been an intense year creatively, and one of increased self-scrutiny. Her most recent project, Did you want more sleep?, combines sound, visual and text, and references the artist’s personal problems with sleep. It is available online via video-on-demand from now to 31 December, …
Did you want more sleep?: weish knows people are tired of livestreams Read More »
In our end-of-year roundup, Nabilah Said, Naeem Kapadia and Matt Lyon take stock of the year in Singapore theatre, alongside guests Lee Shu Yu from Centre 42 and Max Yam from Arts Republic. This podcast is published as part of Year In Review, an annual discussion and round-up of the performing arts in Singapore organised …
ArtsEquator speaks to Andy Chia, Natalie Alexandra, Rizman Putra, Russell Morton and Yeo Siew Hua, the creatives behind The Wandering, a dance film about loss connections and a family in crisis, about what it’s like working on the film together, especially during a pandemic. The Wandering runs from 18 to 20 Dec as part of …
Why everyone is dancing during the pandemic: The Wandering at SIFA 2020 Read More »
Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Waiting For The Host by Pangdemonium. The play is written by Marc Palmieri and directed by Tracie Pang. Waiting For The Host ran from 15 Oct to 1 Nov on SISTIC Live. Stream Podcast 83: ArtsEquator · Podcast 83: Waiting For The Host Download Podcast 83 here. …
Podcast 83: Waiting For The Host by Pangdemonium Read More »
By Chan Sze-Wei (739 words, 4-minute read) In grainy close up, we see segmented views of one woman, fighting to breathe with every fibre of her sinewy body. She grunts, writhes, sweats, hyperventilates. Her body multiplies by video effect but perhaps also by mass audience hallucination. Depending on which way you lean, Pat Toh’s Topography …
Harrowing and sublime: Topography of Breath 2.0 by Pat Toh Read More »
Nabilah Said, Matthew Lyon and Naeem Kapadia discuss Who’s There by The Transit Ensemble (Singapore/Malaysia/US); and Two Songs and a Story by Checkpoint Theatre. Who’s There ran from 4 – 8 August on Zoom as part of Ice Factory 2020 by New Ohio Theatre. Two Songs and a Story is an online video series on SISTIC …
By Nabilah Said (950 words, 4-minute read) If hope is a thing with feathers, then Peepbird, a 60-minute-long non-verbal show, would be it. This offering by The Finger Players was my first live theatre show since COVID – the one that was promised, had been prophesied and invoked in many a panel and Facebook post …
Bird is the word: Peepbird by The Finger Players Read More »
Rohingya poet Mayyu Ali and Malaysian artist Sharon Chin collaborate in this meaningful project that looks at Rohingya and Malay lullabies and folksongs. The pairings of songs, which are narrated and sung orally, are further unified with a patterned artwork by Sharon Chin, which for Sharon acts as “one small bridge for the immeasurable distance …
Transcultural Lullabies: Rohingya and Malay folksongs Read More »
By Jocelyn Chng (1,550 words, 5-minute read) Attending From Here On, my first live performance since COVID hit, evoked a very strange mix of emotions in me. Unfortunately, before getting anywhere near the performance itself, the experience of attempting to get to the Esplanade was already one of sheer frustration. Anyone in Singapore who has …
From Here On: Going to the theatre in the time of COVID Read More »
We all miss being able to attend shows physically in theatres, but we’re also quick to adapt. As we watch more and more shows on a screen, what kind of audience members have we become? Take the quiz below to find out. [Featuring illustrations by HAFI] Click the image or here to start. This content …
Translation by Eka Wahyuni In one corner of West Java, Indonesia, in the Majalengka Regency, a group of volunteers work hand in hand to distribute Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), groceries, food, and medical equipment to people who have to work outside the home during the Covid-19 pandemic. These volunteers were the Relawan Jabar Baik (West …
Jatiwangi Art Factory: Cultural work that breaks the mould Read More »
by Kathy Rowland ArtsEquator sometimes feels like a mythical creature. Looking back over the past 4 years, it takes the shape of a unicorn, a joyful improbability. With Covid-19, it can weigh like an albatross, cash flow statements instead of wing span, web traffic in place of talons. Perhaps it is a hippogriff, half earthbound …
